Blackface incident is just the latest moment of anti-blackness & racism in Fresno Unified
The recent news of a Bullard High School student donning blackface and using the n-word on social media has hurt our community deeply. While the student’s actions are disappointing, the student’s ability to make that choice exists in an America where there is a long and toxic history of systemic racism and anti-blackness. Incidents like…
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Next Step in Diversity Training: Teachers Learn to Face Their Unconscious Biases
(As published in EdWeek, by Sarah Schwartz on May 14, 2019) Diversity training asks teachers to understand students’ different backgrounds. Implicit-bias training goes further, and asks teachers to look at themselves Teachers—and their implicit biases—can directly impact the opportunities afforded to students of color. Teachers make the first decisions about behavioral consequences that lead to referrals…
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The Problem with Earth Day
Earth Day is problematic. For years the needs and conservation leadership from Black, Brown and Indigenous folks have been ignored by the environmental justice movement despite our communities suffering the most. Across the U.S. we continue to see examples of the inequity built into environmental justice efforts. Cities like Flint, Michigan still don’t have clean…
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CFJ Youth Leading Together with LBUSD to Interrupt Bias in the Classroom
This weekend CFJ youth leaders and staff led a powerful bias training for Long Beach Unified School District teachers and administrators. The session was a unique twist to traditional trainings that center conversations on adults rather than students. CFJ youth leaders led the space and trained LBUSD staff participants on the ways implicit biases show…
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Communities across CA mobilizing in solidarity with Asylum Seekers
While the violence experienced by children, families and young people at the California border may have slipped from the news cycle, it’s important to remember that our government continues to attack and vilify this community. The violence these asylum seekers are fleeing from is directly linked to U.S. intervention in Central America, and yet our…
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Elections are Over; What Does it Mean for California’s Schools?
After a lengthy election cycle that saw mass mobilization of youth and voters of color, Californians for Justice is eager to see how Governor-Elect Gavin Newsom will continue efforts to fully fund our public schools. We are looking to Newsom to be a governor who can lead together with youth, parents, educators and other elected…
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How do you support students and teachers of color?
Most of us kicked off the month of September with the three-day Labor Day weekend celebrating the hard work and organizing efforts of working individuals and families. But looking beyond the holiday, it’s important that we take time to remember that working people — particularly teachers of color — continue to struggle in our communities…
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Don’t be Afraid — Talk about Race with Your Students
As students across the state go back to school, 1 in 3 will fail to identify a single caring adult on campus. For Black, Brown, Native American, Pacific Islander and Southeast Asian Students, these relationships are even more scarce, and students of color frequently report feeling unnoticed and uncared for by teachers and staff. When…
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LeBron James: The Real MVP for Public Schools
Most of us celebrated the Golden State Warriors victories over LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 and 2018 NBA championships. We especially reveled in the 2017 win after James’ Cavaliers broke our hearts in 2016. This summer things changed. We are now celebrating LeBron James. Not only because we beat him, again, but because…
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